Flash Flood — Santa Barbara, California

2023-03-10 · near Los Alamos, Santa Barbara, California

Event narrative

Heavy rainfall produced flash flooding in Santa Barbara county. Highway 135 was closed from Bell Street to the Harris Grade, due to significant mud and water flowing across the roadway.

Wider weather episode

A second winter storm impacted Southwestern California. The heaviest rainfall impacted San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties where rainfall totals ranged from 2 to 4 inches across the coast with 5 to 10 inches across the foothills and mountains. For Ventura and Los Angeles counties, rainfall totals ranged between 0.50 and 1.50 inches with local amounts up to 3 inches across the foothills. The heavy rainfall produced numerous reports of flooding across San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. Also, gusty south to southwest winds were reported across many areas.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (34.7500, -120.2900)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1090749. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.